PB&J is perfect
by gift of the gabz
Summary: Barry walks into his office feeling pretty down, an unknown person in his chair has the ability to turn that all around.


**A/N Set before Flash vs Arrow but Barry and Oliver have gotten pretty close since pilot episode of Flash hence they are both likely to be quite OOC. Also I'm so embarrassingly behind on Arrow - like at the start of season 2 so no spoilers to be found here.**

Barry shuffled into his office, not even the idea of getting another bad guy off the street could make him feel better. It was just one of those days. His mood wasn't even Iris and Eddie related, at least then he would have a reason, instead he was left counting down the hours and super-speed didn't really help there.

Hearing one of his machines beeping, Barry was forced to look up as he crossed over the threshold. Moving towards the centrifuge which he seemed to only use now on days like this, where even his cool, new powers couldn't make him feel better. It took Barry an embarrassingly long moment to realise someone was sitting in his chair, the front facing away from him. "Uh, excuse me, you uh… you can't be in here."

"Really Bar, how do you expect anyone to move with absolutely no authority in your tone."

Feeling his face break into a smile, Barry rushed forward, happy when he managed to keep from flashing, towards Oliver. "Ollie! You're here."

Turning the chair around, Oliver couldn't help but let a small smile through when he was faced with the pure joy etched on Barry face. "Hey kid."

Holding back a laugh at the pout that formed on Barry's face as he protested that he wasn't a kid, Oliver thought about pointing out the pout wasn't working in his favour. "I know that Barry but you- you just seem to have more energy, optimism and trust in humanity than most adults, despite everything that's happened. Hell, even Felicity isn't as energetic as you are."

Barry's eyes jumped around the room searching for something out of place. "Is she here too?"

Shaking his head Oliver smoothed his tie as Barry looked a little disappointed at the blonde's absence before he just smiled his big goofy smile again.

"So Mr. Queen, what brings you to Central City?"

"Well Mr. Allen, I came to check - in person as opposed to relying on your just your voice, that my favourite forensic scientist was still recovering well after his lightening induced coma." Barry's eyes seemed to sparkle more at Oliver's response and Oliver for the life of him couldn't figure out why.

"Wait so you're really not here on business or _business?_"

Laughing at the emphasis Barry had decided to tack on, Oliver let his feet fall off the desk as he got to his feet. "Yep, nothing work related at all. You have me all to yourself. I expect you to show me all Central City has to offer."

Only his reflexes kept him from stumbling when Barry suddenly threw himself at Oliver, his arms gripping him in a hug so tight it would have hurt a regular person.

Stepping back, Barry felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he realised what he'd done. It was only last week he'd gotten comfortable enough to start calling Oliver 'Ollie' and nearly died from holding his breath as he waited to see how Oliver reacted. They hadn't really made it to the hugging phase of their friendship. In fact he really wasn't sure Oliver hugged anyone unless it was for show. It was kind of sad really. Nevertheless he was terrified he'd overstepped his mark. "Uh, sorry. I shouldn't have done that but I just- you have no idea how terrible today has been and you- you just made it better. Like a beacon of light in the darkness."

Catching Barry's forearm as he moved to step away Oliver let a rare smile show through, one he reserved mainly for Felicity and Barry. "It's okay Bar, seriously. Besides it's kind of nice to be compared to something good. Just try to keep the hugging to a minimum."

Watching as Barry's face lit up again, Oliver sighed as he wondered what he'd gotten himself into. As someone who was about as far from a joyous person as you could get, he tried to avoid what it meant that he surrounded himself with joyful people. First Felicity, then Barry. He figured that it was maybe that they inspired him. That he couldn't imagine how it was possible that even with all the evil they had seen they were still capable of seeing the good in the world. Oliver was ashamed to admit that he used others as a judge of who had some redeemable good in them, even more so when he was in his Arrow mode, having lost the ability to determine that for himself a long time ago. It seemed the only thing he saw was shades of evil. Yet people like Barry made him want to believe in the world again because he couldn't imagine there being a sliver of evil in him.

"Hey Allen!"

Hearing the voice before Eddie showed up gave Oliver plenty of time to drop his hand from Barry's forearm settling back into Barry's chair as he observed the growing heaviness that seemed to settle on his friend's shoulders as a reminder of the real world pulled him from their bubble. "Yeah Eddie?"

"Have you started the labs yet on the Dugan case?"

The answer was obvious in the carefully placed blank mask that slipped over Barry's face.

Oliver, deciding he'd seen more than enough, grabbed the evidence bag on the desk as he stood up from the chair, drawing the attention of the detective.

"Here, Eddie is it? I believe this is what you're looking for and if you turn around go back out that door and walk down the hallway I know you will find another forensic scientist who will help you with your case. Barry's taking the rest of today off."

"Ollie-" catching the look Oliver was giving Eddie, Barry quickly added the 'ver' on the end of his name before continuing, "don't be rude."

Ignoring Oliver when he turned his gaze on him instead, Barry moved closer to Eddie, closing the detective's hand around the file. "But he's not wrong, I'm sure Katie would gladly help you." Turning to shut down his space, Barry fought to keep the smile off his face. "I'm going to be out for the next few days, I'm not feeling too well you see and Oliver's kindly offered to take care of me."

Rolling his eyes at how proud Barry looked of his lie, Oliver grabbed his coat from where it was hanging off the back of the chair and scooped up the messenger bag Barry carried with him everywhere and tried to ignore the voice in his head that sounded too much like Felicity cracking up when he caught sight of himself in the reflection of Barry's shiny cabinets. He was definitely too bulky to pull off this look.

Hearing a snicker from behind him, Oliver rolled his eyes before grabbing Barry's arm again. "Come on Bar, I'll even make you some of my famous chicken soup."

Letting himself be pulled of the room, Barry smiled as he suppressed more laughter. "Sure. And who, pray tell, has actually tried this soup before? You do know how to use a stove right?"

Eddie watched the pair drift down the hall, his eyes bulging from his head as he saw Barry Allen acting more like a regular person than ever before. Somehow this Oliver fellow, who looked _a_ _lot_ like Oliver Queen - but that couldn't be right - had managed to convince Barry to ditch work when even Iris hadn't been able to do that. And Barry was willing to do absolutely anything for Iris, something that quite often made Eddie wonder about the real nature of their relationship. Still, it was like someone swooped in and body swapped Allen with a functional human being who could actually carry out a conversation without referencing some super geeky concept.

After stopping past Katie's office and briefing her on the case, Eddie continued back down to his desk. Slipping into his chair he was surprised to see an email dated an hour back from the Captain reiterating that with Barry's leave being approved, he was supposed to handle the Dugan case with Katie all along. It appeared that whoever this Oliver person was, he not only had all his bases covered in advance but he also seemed to genuinely view Barry as a friend - a friend who apparently worked too much.

Seeing a shadow fall over him, Eddie eyed his girlfriend who looked like she was seconds away from shrieking and jumping on the spot.

"Is it true?"

Confused as to what Iris was asking him, Eddie cocked his head to the side and waited for her to continue.

Sighing in exasperation, Iris shoved her phone out so Eddie could see the text. "Is Oliver Queen really at the station. Linda from the front desk messaged me swearing she'd seen him head towards the detectives area."

Finally realising that with the way Iris was acting that joke about the free pass with Oliver Queen may not have actually been a joke, Eddie was hesitant to tell her. "Uh, he was. But he left about half and hour ago with…"

"With who?"

"Barry."

Iris laughed, the crazy look in her eyes increasing as she leant closer into Eddie's space. "That's funny, it just sounded like you said Barry but that can't be right because surely Barry would have told me if he met Oliver Queen."

Accepting that there was no way of getting out of this without Barry being thrown under the bus, Eddie figured it was best for Iris to know everything before she killed Barry. "It looked more like they knew each other, like they were friends. Barry called him Ollie and he called Barry 'Bar'."

Spotting the look of shock on Iris' face as he walked out of the bathroom, Joe quickly turned back around. He'd leave this to Eddie, after all she was his girlfriend. He was going to have to learn and quickly that whatever it was that Barry did, it was up to him to fix.

— - — - — - — - —

Shaking his head as he watched Barry run - at a normal speed - along the surf of the beach chased by a bunch of toddlers who were really waddling more than they were running, Oliver couldn't help but be amazed by the change in Barry's attitude from earlier. It seemed all he wanted was someone who knew what he could do but was fine to let him just be normal for a day. Oliver understood that. Sometimes he just wanted to forget who he was and go back to the old Oliver. Not so much the womanising druggie but more the idiotic kid who didn't yet know anything about the horrors of the world and lived in a delusion. He was much happier back then.

It was truly spectacular then to see that Barry was still able to see the good in life with all the meta-human crazies he dealt with. The irony of him thinking of Barry as a little brother wasn't lost on him considering the fact that he had called his little sister Speedy for the better part of her childhood. Joking that she'd chase after him with a speed her tiny body shouldn't have been capable of and now in front of him was the real embodiment of that claim.

Barry laughed as he returned the exhausted toddlers to their parents and nannies, who were looking at him like he'd hung the moon and stars for tuckering the little monsters out. Turning back to their things he shook his head fondly as he noticed Oliver had shed his jacket and was lying on the sand his shirt untucked looking like he hadn't a care in the world.

Flopping down beside him, Barry smiled slightly when he saw the ease with which Oliver laid there so unlike any other state Barry had seen him in. Spotting a raised, jagged silver line where Oliver's shirt had risen, Barry couldn't bring himself to look away. He only realised he had moved when he felt Oliver's warm skin underneath his fingertips. Pulling his hand back immediately, Barry kept his eyes on the sand waiting for Oliver to leave him, Barry had definitely overstepped this time.

"This is the first time I've been able to touch sand without thinking of Lian Yu."

Glancing at Oliver, Barry noticed he still had his eyes closed apparently choosing to ignore Barry's slip. Lying down next to Oliver, they stayed there quietly listening to the waves crash on the shore.

"Is your offer of soup still open?"

Laughing at the relief that flooded through Oliver at the fact that someone had finally not made a big deal when he mentioned something from his time away, he nudged Barry in the arm. "It's really not an edible dish but I do make a killer PB&J."

Letting his eyes drift shut as he felt the sun beat down on his skin Barry smiled, "PB&J is perfect."


End file.
